What is it the arise your cause of concern? Is it the weld, mount, etc? Suggestions appreciated.

 

Well for one thing, there should be some positive lock at the end of those horizontal pipes. Something that makes it impossible to slide the wing off. A big bolt, perhaps.

 

How about those hose clamps? That would be *my* immediate concern.

 

My concern is the hose clamps and sliding bracket arrangement. Yes, I know the binding should keep the clamps and assembly in place but that's not good enough. Consider the forces in an impact and how that wing might become an airborne projectile.

You should have those t-brackets bolted through the pipe to hold them in place. I understand your desire to have a way to adjust the forces fore and aft, so maybe multiple holes for a pin to go through and positively lock the assembly in place would work. As it sits, I'd protest your car being on the track for safety reasons.

 

Revisions will be made. thanks for the thoughts.

 

Just add some safety wire and I'm sure that will quell any and all protests.

 

Safety wire is good for bolts, not whole assemblies.

 

Looks like a well thought out design Ray. I know you've been working on it and testing for a long time. Maybe just a locking pin at the end of the pipes to hold the assemble in place, just in case. I can't really see it sliding off since you have so much room, but you never know.

I guess the only thing left to do is test it on a track.
Good luck.

 

I can't believe that you can generate sufficient pressure with the hose clamps to compress the outer pipe and produce significant friction against the inner pipe. The hose clamps would be much more effective if they were used as stops ahead of and behind the sliding pipe.

Even that would not make me feel good if the structure had to withstand an impact. Plus the wing is going to be subject to large drag forces and vibration that could stretch the clamps and/or cause them to slip.

I would definitely want to use bolts going through the slider and the inner pipe. I would also move the mounting bolts out to the corners of the mounting plates. Being near the vertical centerline of the plate gives the bolts less leverage, and they are subject to larger forces when you pull on the wing that they would if they were closer to the edges of the plates.

 

so what kind of actual aerodynamic testing has been done...

or all your guys just winging it? (get it?!)